Produced by Fox in the Stars, Brenda Lewis, Emmy and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
THE
YOUNG ADVENTURER
OR
TOM'S TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS
BY
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
AUTHOR OF "THE BACKWOODS BOY," "FROM CANAL BOY TO
PRESIDENT," "WALTER SHERWOOD'S PROBATION," "NED
NEWTON," "ADRIFT IN NEW YORK," ETC.
NEW YORK
HURST & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
ALGER SERIES FOR BOYS.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME.
BY HORATIO ALGER, JR.
Adrift in New York.
Andy Gordon.
Andy Grant's Pluck.
Bob Burton.
Bound to Rise.
Brave and Bold.
Cash Boy.
Chester Rand.
Do and Dare.
Driven from Home.
Erie Train Boy.
Facing the World.
Hector's Inheritance.
Helping Himself.
Herbert Carter's Legacy.
In a New World.
Jack's Ward.
Jed, the Poor House Boy.
Julius, the Street Boy.
Luke Walton.
Making His Way.
Only an Irish Boy.
Paul, the Peddler.
Phil, the Fiddler.
Ralph Raymond's Heir.
Risen from the Ranks.
Sam's Chance.
Shifting for Himself.
Sink or Swim.
Slow and Sure.
Store Boy.
Strive and Succeed.
Strong and Steady.
Tin Box.
Tom, the Bootblack.
Tony, the Tramp.
Try and Trust.
Young Acrobat.
Young Outlaw.
Young Salesman.
_Price Post-Paid, 35c. each, or any three
books for $1.00._
HURST & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I MARK NELSON'S FAMILY 3
II TOM FINDS A WALLET 10
III TOM ASKS A LOAN 17
IV TOM ASKS LEAVE OF ABSENCE 25
V TOM RAISES THE MONEY 33
VI TOM ARRIVES IN PITTSBURG 42
VII THE PITTSBURG HOUSE 51
VIII GRAHAM IN HIS TRUE COLORS 59
IX THE "RIVER BELLE" 68
X ON THE STEAMER 76
XI THE FIRST DAY ON THE RIVER 85
XII NO. 61 AND NO. 62 94
XIII GRAHAM'S DISAPPOINTMENT 104
XIV COMING TO AN UNDERSTANDING 113
XV THE ALLEGHANY HOUSE 117
XVI THE EVENTS OF A MORNING 122
XVII TOM'S ARREST 131
XVIII TOM GETS OUT OF HIS DIFFICULTY 140
XIX A MISSOURI TAVERN 149
XX ST. JOE 158
XXI HOW THINGS WENT ON AT HOME 167
XXII THE YOUNG MAN FROM BOSTON 175
XXIII MR. PEABODY'S TROUBLES 184
XXIV A SAD SIGHT 192
XXV A NIGHT PANIC 201
XXVI MR. PEABODY IS WORSTED 209
XXVII THE LOST HORSE 217
XXVIII INDIAN CASUISTRY 221
XXIX A RACE FOR LIFE 230
XXX TOM BECOMES AN INDIAN 234
XXXI TOM GIVES A MAGICAL SOIREE 240
XXXII TOM'S ESCAPE 247
THE YOUNG ADVENTURER.
CHAPTER I.
MARK NELSON'S FAMILY.
"I wish I could pay off the mortgage on my farm," said Mark Nelson
soberly, taking his seat on the left of the fireplace, in the room where
his wife and family were assembled.
"Have you paid the interest, Mark?" asked his wife.
"Yes; I paid it this afternoon, and it has stripped me of money
completely. I have less than five dollars in my pocketbook toward buying
you and the children clothes for the winter."
"Never mind me," said his wife cheerfully. "I am pretty well provided
for."
"Why, mother," said Sarah, the oldest daughter, a girl of fourteen; "you
haven't had a new dress for a year."
"I have enough to last me till spring, at any rate," said the mother.
"You never buy anything for yourself."
"I don't go in rags, do I?" asked Mrs. Nelson, with a smile.
Mrs. Nelson had a happy disposition, which led her to accept
uncomplainingly, and even cheerfully, the sacrifices which, as the wife
of a farmer in poor circumstances, she was compelled to make.
"You are right, Sarah," said Mark Nelson. "Your mother never seems to
think of herself. She might have been much better off if she had not
married me."
The children did not understand this allusion. They had never been told
that their mother had received an offer from Squire Hudson, the
wealthiest man in the village, but had chosen instead to marry Mark
Nelson, whose only property was a small farm, mortgaged for half its
value. Her rejected admirer took the refusal hard, for, as much as it
was possible for him, he loved the prettiest girl in the village, as
Mary Dale was generally regarded. But Mary knew him to be cold and
selfish, and could not make up her mind to marry him. If she had done
so, she would now be living in the finest house in the village, with
the chance of spending the winter in New York or Boston, instead of
drudging in an humble home, where there was indeed enough to eat, but
little money for even necessary purposes. She had never regretted her
decision. Her husband, though poor, was generally respected and liked,
while the squire, though his money procured him a certain degree of
consideration, had no near or attached friends.
To Squire Hudson many in the village paid tribute; for he held mortgages
on twenty farms and buildings, and was strict in exacting prompt payment
of the interest semi-annually. It was he to whom Mark Nelson's farm was
mortgaged for two thousand dollars. The mortgage had originally been for
fifteen hundred dollars, but five years before it had been increased to
two thousand, which represented more than half the sum which it would
have fetched, if put up for sale. The interest on this sum amounted to a
hundred and twenty dollars a year, which Mark Nelson always found it
hard to raise. Could he have retained it in his hands, and devoted it to
the use of his family, it would have helped them wonderfully, with Mrs.
Nelson's good management.
Tom, the oldest boy, now approaching his sixteenth birthday, looked up
from a book he was reading. He was a bright-looking boy, with brown
hair, a ruddy complexion, and dark-blue eyes, who looked, and was, frank
and manly.
"What is the amount of your interest?" he asked.
"Sixty dollars every half-year, Tom. That is what I paid to Squire
Hudson this afternoon. It would have made us very comfortable, if I only
could have kept it."
"It would have done you more good than the squire," said Sarah.
"He has more money than he knows what to do with," said her father,
almost complainingly. "It seems hard that money should be so unevenly
distributed."
"Money is not happiness," said Mrs. Nelson quietly.
"No; but it helps to buy happiness."
"I don't think Squire Hudson is as happy a man as you, Mark."
Mark Nelson's face softened as he surveyed his wife and children.
"I am happy at home," he said, "and I don't think the squire is."
"I am sure he isn't," said Tom. "Mrs. Hudson is sour and ill-tempered,
and Sinclair--the only child--is a second edition of his mother. He is
the most unpopular boy in the village."
"Still," said the farmer, not quite convinced, "money is an important
element of happiness, and a farmer stands a very poor chance of
acquiring it. Tom, I advise you not to be a farmer."
"I don't mean to be if I can help it," said Tom. "I am ready for any
opening that offers. I hope some day to pay off the mortgage on the
farm, and make you a free man, father."
"Thank you for your good intentions, Tom; but two thousand dollars is a
large sum of money."
"I know it, father; but I was reading in a daily paper, not long since,
of a boy, as poor as myself, who was worth twenty-five thousand dollars
by the time he was thirty. Why shouldn't this happen to me?"
"Don't build castles in the air, Tom," said his mother sensibly.
"At least, mother, I may hope for good luck. I have been wanting to talk
to you both about my future prospects. I shall be sixteen next week,
and it is time I did something."
"You are doing something--working on the farm now, Tom."
"That don't count. Father advises me not to be a farmer, and I agree
with him. I think I am capable of making my way in the world in some
other way, where I can earn more money. There is Walter, who likes the
country, to stay with you."
Walter, the third child, was now twelve years of age, with decided
country tastes.
"I would like to be a farmer as well as anything," said Walter. "I like
the fresh air. I shouldn't like to be cooped up in a store, or to live
in the city. Let Tom go if he likes."
"I have no objection," said Mr. Nelson; "but I have neither money nor
influence to help him. He will have to make his own way."
"I am not afraid to try," said Tom courageously. "From this day I will
look out for a chance, if you and mother are willing."
"I shall not oppose your wishes, Tom," said Mrs. Nelson gravely, "though
it will be a sad day for me when you leave your home."
"That isn't the way to look at it, mother," said Tom. "If gold pieces
grew on currant bushes, it wouldn't be necessary for me to leave home
to make a living."
"I wish they did," said Harry, a boy nine years of age.
"What would you do then, Harry?" asked his brother, smiling.
"I would buy a velocipede and a pair of skates."
"I heard of a boy once who found a penny in the field, right under a
potato-vine," said Walter.
"I don't believe it," said Harry.
"It's true, for I was the boy."
"Where did it come from?"
"Tom put it there to fool me."
"Won't you put one there to fool me, Tom?" asked Harry.
"You are too smart, Harry," said Tom, laughing. "My pennies are too few
to try such experiments. I hope, by the time you are as old as Walter,
to give you something better."
The conversation drifted to other topics, with which we are not
concerned. Tom, however, did not forget it. He felt that an important
question had that evening been decided for him. He had only thought of
making a start for himself hitherto. Now he had broached the subject,
and received the permission of his father and mother. The world was all
before him where to choose. His available capital was small, it is true,
amounting only to thirty-seven cents and a jack-knife; but he had,
besides, a stout heart, a pair of strong hands, an honest face, and
plenty of perseverance--not a bad equipment for a young adventurer.